"It’s already night. You should stop looking for that flame and get some rest," Lin Tian said.

An Yue walked over to Lin Tian, holding her injured arm. He could see it clearly. She had been hurt in the fight against the bear monster.

Slowly, the bear monster faded and dissolved into particles of magic that drifted up into the sky. Lin Tian pulled his sword back and slipped it into his bag of holding.

He turned to the side and crouched down next to Luo Mei. His eyes went straight to her knee, swollen and red. There was a good chance it was broken or badly bruised.

"How are you doing, Yue’er?" Lin Tian asked.

"I’m only a little hurt. It’s nothing serious. I can cultivate to get my condition back," An Yue said.

Lin Tian nodded, fully trusting what An Yue told him. But when he looked at Luo Mei’s condition, it was far worse than he had expected.

If he hadn’t gotten there in time to save them, the winged bear monster would have torn into both of them.

It was lucky that Lin Tian had arrived when he did, preventing their deaths.

He carried Luo Mei in both arms and took flight immediately, leaving the area. An Yue came along, flying on her qi sword beside them.

They finally arrived and touched down in the sect’s front courtyard. Lin Tian set Luo Mei gently on the ground and asked her to lie on her back so he could work on restoring her condition.

Hearing a familiar voice from behind her made Wu Yue stop for a moment. Her eyes went wide and she turned her head to look.

To Wu Yue’s surprise, the person was Lin Tian, the very one she had been waiting for all this time. And even more unexpectedly, she found him arriving while carrying an injured Luo Mei.

"Master Lin Tian?" Wu Yue asked, startled.

She tried to walk over to him, but her body was stiff and weak. Ya Fei had to prop her up just to help her move.

"What happened to her, Master Lin?" Ya Fei asked.

"We were chased by a winged bear monster and Luo Mei tripped. She fell and hurt her knee," An Yue answered.

"Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the flame," An Yue added.

Wu Yue reached Luo Mei’s side, tears running down her face, both hands trembling. Her heart filled with guilt the moment she saw Luo Mei’s condition.

She thought to herself that if she hadn’t thrown that flame away, Luo Mei wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

Wu Yue finally began to fully understand her mistake the moment she saw how hard Luo Mei had pushed herself to find it.

"Forgive me, Mei’er."

"Forgive me for being so selfish."

Luo Mei turned and smiled when their eyes met for a moment. She didn’t mind helping Wu Yue find the flame. After all, this problem was something they both had to take responsibility for.

"You’ve helped me so much with pill refinement. Maybe this is my way of helping you back, Master Wu."

Wu Yue listened to what Luo Mei said, and then the two of them embraced, holding each other with genuine warmth. They cried together and expressed their gratitude to one another.

Lin Tian was still there, and so were An Yue and Ya Fei. Both of them looked moved and touched by the closeness between Luo Mei and Wu Yue, something they rarely got to witness.

Lin Tian moved quickly, summoning spiritual qi from his fingertips and directing it forward into Luo Mei’s forehead.

White spiritual qi light appeared and shone brightly across her body. Wu Yue watched what was happening and quickly stepped back to give them space, watching carefully as Luo Mei’s condition was restored.

He kept channeling his spiritual qi to heal Luo Mei’s injured knee. With his current cultivation base, he was able to heal her quickly.

Luo Mei’s body began to rise slightly, wrapped in the white spiritual qi flowing from Lin Tian.

The bruises across her body disappeared, her messy hair settled back into place, and her dirty clothes became clean again as if nothing had happened.

The injury in her knee healed completely as well. Luo Mei opened her eyes and a burst of qi surged from her.

An Yue and Ya Fei watched Luo Mei’s recovery. They were relieved to see her getting better. Wu Yue was moved deeply, watching Luo Mei return to the way she had been before.

She stood on the ground and smiled, looking at Lin Tian’s face. Luo Mei pressed her hands together and bowed her head, thanking him.

"There’s something I want to discuss with all of you," Lin Tian said. "Come inside the main hall."

Wu Yue and Luo Mei went quiet and glanced at each other for a moment. Both of them responded with a nod and followed Lin Tian’s lead.

Lin Tian stopped right at the entrance of the main sect hall. He raised his hand and summoned spiritual qi, then swept his arm to the side to dissolve the dome of the rune array.

The rune array dome faded away, and the main sect hall was open to others once more. Lin Tian stepped inside, with Wu Yue and Luo Mei following behind him.

"What did you want to talk about, Master Lin?" Luo Mei asked.

"It’s about the Earth Flame," Lin Tian replied, taking his seat on the cultivation altar.

"Do you know how valuable that Earth Flame actually is?"

Wu Yue and Luo Mei both instinctively pressed their hands together and bowed their heads. They knew how valuable it was. Cao Ying had already made that clear to them.

"I apologize for my carelessness and my selfishness. I had no right to destroy that glass jar containing the Earth Flame," Wu Yue said.

"Just tell me my punishment. I’ll accept it, even if it means giving up my body’s purity," Wu Yue answered.

Lin Tian went quiet for a moment, then let out a slow breath and called for Cao Ying. Hearing her name, Cao Ying immediately stopped her cultivation and flew quickly from her rocky hill to the room.

Within seconds, Cao Ying arrived in a flash of red spiritual qi. She stood tall and looked over at Wu Yue and Luo Mei, both of whom responded by bowing their heads.

"Master Ying," they greeted her.

"Is it time?" Cao Ying asked.

Lin Tian nodded. He explained that he had seen enough proof of their effort over the full week, and that it wasn’t right to keep letting them suffer like that any longer.

Cao Ying smiled with excitement. She raised her hand and touched her own forehead, and a blue Earth Flame appeared, floating above her palm.

Wu Yue and Luo Mei froze, their faces stunned. "The Earth Flame?"

"H-How is that possible?" Wu Yue asked, shocked.

"Lin Tian caught it. The moment you smashed that glass jar, he went after the Earth Flame right away. And he was lucky enough to catch it," Cao Ying replied.

Wu Yue’s hands and legs trembled. Her head dropped and her eyes shut. Her heart pounded hard because this whole time she had been led to believe the flame was lost. It left her genuinely shaken.

"So... all this time he was—"

"He kept it because he wanted to see the sincerity in how you both took responsibility. It seems you met his expectations," Cao Ying said.

She handed the Earth Flame to Luo Mei, who received it with both hands, a wide smile of joy and relief spreading across her face.

"Thank you so much, Master Lin," Luo Mei said.

"This matter is settled. I want both of you to rest and recover."

"Luo Mei," Lin Tian called.

"Yes, Master Lin?" Luo Mei asked.

"Tomorrow, I’ll help you through the process of bonding your soul with the Earth Flame. So be ready."

"I understand, Master Lin."